The Penguins will begin their three-game Western Canada road trip tonight with an 8:00 p.m. start against the Edmonton Oilers.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Oilers have struggled mightily this season, and at 14-28-9, they are far closer to drafting Connor McDavid than they are finding their way to the postseason for the first time since 2006. Their 37 points are the second-fewest in the NHL to the Buffalo Sabres, so the Oilers are positioning themselves well to land McDavid or fellow top prospect Jack Eichel.
The Oilers have already begun to look forward to 2015-16, starting with the firing of head coach Dallas Eakins in mid-December. Todd Nelson was called up from AHL Oklahoma City and hasn’t fared much better, with a 7-19-5 record.
Their transaction sheet is littered with moves looking to next season as well, with rookie center Leon Draisaitl sent back to juniors and veteran forward David Perron traded to Pittsburgh for a first-round pick.
Penguins forward Marc Arcobello also started the season with the Oilers. He was traded to Nashville for center Derek Roy and then placed on waivers when the Predators forwards started to get healthy.
Perron had five goals and 14 assists through 38 games with the Oilers this season. Arcobello had seven goals and five assists in 36 games.
THE 4077: Evgeni Malkin will make his return to the Penguins lineup tonight after missing five games with a lower-body injury. Malkin’s return should have a big impact on the team’s offensive output, which has been struggling lately. The Penguins have scored only two goals in their last three games.
“It gives up depth down the middle,” head coach Mike Johnston said of having Malkin in his usual place on the second line. “At different times this year, we’ve had Sid out or Geno out, and having the three centers – and now the four centers with Lapierre being acquired – now our depth down the middle is really good.”
Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (head) has not been practicing with the team. There is no timetable for his return at this point.
READ OPTION: The Penguins had an optional morning skate this afternoon, but all but two players (defensemen Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi) chose to participate.
“Whenever you make a skate optional, it’s the responsibility of the player to say, ‘What do I need to do to get myself ready to play tonight?’ And those guys went out and felt that they needed to get a little bit more of a skate in,” said Johnston. “It’s about individual preparation.”
MINOR MATTERS: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (25-18-4, 2nd in AHL East) shut out Springfield for the second time in less than a week, this time with by a 4-0 margin at home on Tuesday. Matt Murray again earned the shutout, his fifth of the season, which is tied for the AHL lead. He is also tops amongst rookies with a 1.90 goals-against average.
After losing five straight games between Jan. 6 and Jan. 18, the AHL Penguins have won five of their last six games and have clawed back to within two points of first-place Hershey in the AHL East.
The Wheeling Nailers (20-21, 5th in ECHL North) are in Reading this evening for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff against the Royals. The Nailers added goaltender Eric Hartzell and forwards Josh Archibald and Jean-Sebastien Dea from Wilkes-Barre for tonight’s game. The Nailers remain one point behind fourth-place Kalamazoo for the final playoff spot in the North Division.
The ECHL announced the 2015-16 conference and divisional alignments on Tuesday. The Nailers will remain in the North Division, along with Kalamazoo and Toledo, and will be joined by the Brampton Beast. Cincinnati, Indy, Evansville, and Fort Wayne will split off to form the new Midwest Division along with the Quad City Mallards. Eastern Conference newcomers Norfolk, Manchester and Adirondack will join the East Division along with Reading and Elmira.
